LAPSIS VLOG – Interview with Noah Hutton

In July and August of 2019, cast and crew worked in the Hudson Valley on Noah Hutton’s narrative feature debut, Lapsis. Over 25 days, the production filmed in 18 different locations, mostly around Patterson, in Putnam County, and also Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County. 

On February 12, Lapsis will be available for streaming on multiple platforms including iTunes, Amazon Prime and through local movie theaters including the Jacob Burns Film Center, which will also hold a special Q&A screening on March 9.

To mark the premiere, the Hudson Valley Film Commission recruited filmmaker Jeremiah Wenutu to interview Noah about the making of the film. The 17 minute interview covers a lot of ground and can be streamed below or at https://vimeo.com/507963403

For details and streaming links, visit https://www.lapsisfilm.com/how-to-watch

Noah Hutton wrote, directed, scored, and edited Lapsis. The film premiered in the narrative feature competition at SXSW 2020. The film, which is set in a parallel present, follows delivery man Ray Tincelli, who is struggling to support himself and his ailing younger brother. After a series of two-bit hustles and unsuccessful swindles, Ray takes a job in a strange new realm of the gig economy: trekking deep into the forest, pulling cable over miles of terrain to connect large, metal cubes that link together the new quantum trading market. As he gets pulled deeper into the zone, he encounters growing hostility and the threat of robot cablers, and must choose to either help his fellow workers or to get rich and get out.

Exceptional reviews have lauded the film and Hutton was recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay..

“CULT STATUS IS ASSURED.” – VARIETY
"A SMART, CLASS-CONSCIOUS SCI-FI PARABLE." – THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“HUTTON’S WORLD-BUILDING TAKES FLIGHT.” – INDIEWIRE
“WITTY, ASTUTE, PERFECTLY ABSURD.” – AUSTIN CHRONICLE

Noah Hutton also recently premiered the documentary IN SILICO, a 10-year quest to chronicle the birth of simulated consciousness. Stay tuned for streaming info.

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501c3 non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more.

SELECT Hudson Valley productions:
To view full list or to stream regional films, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest
Old Man • The Hating Game • The Green Veil • Linoleum • The Sixth Reel • Diaries of an Exchange Student • Werewolves Within (Ubisoft Film) • Things Heard and Seen (Netflix) • Billions (Showtime) • Monsterland (Hulu) • Audrey • The Plot Against America (HBO) • Silent Retreat (Miramax) • Black Bear • Lapsis • Foxhole • The Undoing (HBO) • I Know This Much Is True (HBO)• Save Yourselves • I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix) • Scare Me • A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount) • Can You Keep a Secret? (BCDF) • Panic (Amazon Prime) • High Maintenance (HBO) • Shirley (Killer Films) • Driveways • The Dead Don't Die (Focus Features) • Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios) • The Irishman (Netflix) • The Climb • Swallow • Skin • The Mountain • A Quiet Place (Paramount) • Fabled • Then Came You (BCDF) • Furlough • A Vigilante • Nancy • Diane • The Miseducation of Cameron Post • La Devotee by Panic at the Disco! • It Comes at Night • Super Dark Times • The Seagull • HAPPYish (Showtime) • The Ticket • Growing Up Smith • Cold in July • Katie Fforde Films • True Story • The Sisterhood of Night • The Better Angels • We Are What We Are • The Bourne Legacy • Frances Ha • Our Idiot Brother • First Winter • The Last Keepers (BCDF) • Francine • Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding • Martha Marcy May Marlene • Higher Ground • Rocksteady • Bitter Feast • Stake Land • Man on Wire • Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) • American Gangster (Imagine Entertainment) • Michael Clayton • The Human Footprint (National Geographic) • The Night Listener • Stephanie Daley • War of the Worlds (Dreamworks) • Down to the Bone • Personal Velocity • Prey

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Putnam County, Markertek, the Wood Dock Foundation and private support from kind donors.

Please support the continued efforts of the Hudson Valley Film Commission with a tax deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

2021 FILM COMMISSION UPDATE

The Hudson Valley Film Commission has been working with a considerable amount of Film & TV companies as production returns to the region under stringent Covid-19 guidelines. 

On location with One Week in Heaven.
Photo courtesy of Chuck Merrihew.

2020 started off with strong first quarter earnings due to several projects including Diaries of an Exchange Student (from Brazil) and Werewolves Within (from Ubisoft). Production came to a stop in mid March as the pandemic broke out. In August of 2020, the film commission worked with several smaller productions without incident, including One Week in Heaven and The Institute. Over the remaining several months, half a dozen other productions took place including The Hating Game, from BCDF Pictures, Linoleum, Pumkinhole, The Sixth Reel, and The Green Veil, starring John Leguizamo.

On location with The Green Veil

“We are forever grateful to the Hudson Valley Film Commission team, they were extremely helpful and knowledgeable with any request we threw at them,” wrote The Green Veil producer Alessia Gatti. “From recommending local picture car owners to drivers, locations, catering and more, they are an incredible asset for any production that intends to film in the Hudson Valley.”

As 2021 rolled around, more potential productions started contacting the film commission.

On location in Phillipstown for filming of Pumpkinhole, directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz. Photo courtesy of producer Marc Tarczali.

“Inquiries about filming in the region have increased significantly. We get calls every week,” says executive director Laurent Rejto. “Currently, we’re working with more than 10 companies including HBO, Netflix, Paramount, and many smaller indies. Right now, we’re happy to report that four projects have started up including a Netflix production that recently filmed at Vassar. We anticipate the floodgates will open as soon as safety concerns are under better control.”

Since 2000, Rejto has been referring local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more to Film and TV productions. Over the past 20+ years, thousands of local jobs have been created on more than 500 productions, resulting in more than $250 million in regional economic development. 

“We’ve always worked with the community by speaking at local libraries, schools and even halls,” adds Rejto. “Since the pandemic, we have relied on our Facebook page posts. Currently we’re working with a location manager we’ve worked with on four prior films, to find an ideal modern house for a potential production this coming March.” 

Driveways producer Joe Pirro (l), Laurent Rejto, and director Andrew Ahn (r).

In addition to making early referrals, the Hudson Valley Film Commission also supports and promotes the productions it works with through BLOGS and its new STREAMFEST website, which includes information and streaming links to hundreds of productions that were filmed, either in whole, or in part, in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Films and TV productions that were recently promoted include Shirley, Driveways, I Know This Much is True, The Plot Against America, and The Undoing.

For a complete list, see STREAMFEST

For additional information including the film commission directory, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501c3 non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Putnam County, Markertek, the Wood Dock Foundation and private support from kind donors. To support our continued efforts with a tax-deductible contribution visit hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

Select Mid-Hudson Valley productions include:
The Hating Game • The Green Veil • Linoleum • The Sixth Reel • Diaries of an Exchange Student • Werewolves Within (Ubisoft Film) • Things Heard and Seen (Netflix) • Billions (Showtime) • Monsterland (Hulu) • Audrey • The Plot Against America (HBO) • Silent Retreat (Miramax) • Black Bear • Lapsis • Foxhole • The Undoing (HBO) • I Know This Much Is True (HBO)• Save Yourselves • I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix) • Scare Me • A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount) • Can You Keep a Secret? (BCDF) • Panic (Amazon Prime) • High Maintenance (HBO) • Shirley (Killer Films) • Driveways • The Dead Don't Die (Focus Features) • Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios) • The Irishman (Netflix) • The Climb • Swallow • Skin • The Mountain • A Quiet Place (Paramount) • Fabled • Then Came You (BCDF) • Furlough • A Vigilante • Nancy • Diane • The Miseducation of Cameron Post • La Devotee by Panic at the Disco! • It Comes at Night • Super Dark Times • The Seagull • HAPPYish (Showtime) • The Ticket • Growing Up Smith • Cold in July • Katie Fforde Films • True Story • The Sisterhood of Night • The Better Angels • We Are What We Are • The Bourne Legacy • Frances Ha • Our Idiot Brother • First Winter • The Last Keepers (BCDF) • Francine • Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding • Martha Marcy May Marlene • Higher Ground • Rocksteady • Bitter Feast • Stake Land • Man on Wire • Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) • American Gangster (Imagine Entertainment) • Michael Clayton • The Human Footprint (National Geographic) • The Night Listener • Stephanie Daley • War of the Worlds (Dreamworks) • Down to the Bone • Personal Velocity • Prey

A BEND IN THE RIVER

To celebrate Colin Broderick’s birthday, this January 2, 2021, we will dedicate this blog to talking about the release of his most recent feature film. According to Hollywood Reporter, “Indie Rights has swooped on worldwide distribution for the Irish drama A Bend in the River, directed by bestselling author Colin Broderick (Church’s End, Orangutan, That’s That).”

The movie, which was partly written and edited in Woodstock, NY tells the story of a writer who goes home to Ireland after spending twenty five years abroad in New York. 

The film commission reached out to Colin regarding his sophomore effort. His previous film can be streamed online at Emerald City.

“One of the main challenges was to create a visually compelling narrative to represent Matt Donnelly’s inner life,” Broderick answered from his new home in Jersey. “When we shot the movie in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland I had a sense the energy of the countryside really got pulled into the emotional core of the movie. Thirty years of war leaves a residue. There was this feeling that it was hard to tell where the countryside ended and the graveyard began. There’s some profound pain there that’s still being processed and I wanted to make sure we honored all that with some compassion. So the challenge became, how do you portray that feeling to the audience... because Northern Ireland, in a sense, is a state of mind. “

“We had two very capable editors who had started on this movie at the outset, one in Los Angeles, and another in Dublin, but at some point I realized that I was going to have to be in the editing room myself to get at the essence of the thing. It’s such a personal movie. That’s when I made the decision to take the movie home to Woodstock where I was living. My friend Jon Greenhalgh had just come off editing a couple of feature films and I asked him to come on board. Jon made the great documentary Team Foxcatcher about the Wrestler Dave Schultz. He’s really got wrestling in his blood. And that’s what it was like with him and I in the editing room for six months on this thing every day... We wrestled over every single frame. It was an incredible experience. Challenging and rewarding. At some point, the aesthetic crystallized, and we just followed that path until the movie revealed itself. I wanted to honor the place of my childhood. Lay the ghosts to rest. What better place to do that than Woodstock NY!”

Editor and filmmaker Jon Greenhalgh was busy working on a sizzle reel for the new doc series about the Gracie Family - the prominent martial arts family from Rio de Janeiro, known for their creation of the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

“Colin has developed a unique style of storytelling, steeped in the turbulent history of Northern Ireland, and rooted in personal experience,” answered Greenhalgh. “At his core, Colin is a writer — my job, as his editor, was to help sweep away the narrative distractions, and allow his words to take center stage.”

“It’s great news,” added Laurent Rejto of the Hudson Valley Film Commission. “Colin is so deserving. He’s compassionate and an incredibly hard worker, who is as passionate about his art as he is about his friends and family. Before the pandemic, we were getting weekly updates at our Sunday poker game, which included Colin, Jon and a bunch of local filmmakers. Josh Brolin, who was one of the executive producers on A Bend in the River, even joined us one week. Colin and Jon mostly wrestled over poker chips, but sometimes we’d get snippets about specific scenes during poker, and we would get updates about other projects Colin was juggling, including frequent travels back to Ireland.” 

A Bend in the River was produced by Julie Ryanfrom MK1 Studios and exec produced by Josh Brolin, Con McCormack, and Don Cisternino. The film was shot exclusively in County Tyrone, Ireland. 

Acquired by Indie Rights from MK1 Studios, the film is now due for a combined digital and theatrical release from March.

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501c3 non profit organization (EIN 85-2021435) that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more.

SELECT Hudson Valley productions:
To view full list or to stream regional films, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest
The Hating Game • The Green Veil • Linoleum • The Sixth Reel • Diaries of an Exchange Student • Werewolves Within (Ubisoft Film) • Things Heard and Seen (Netflix) • Billions (Showtime) • Monsterland (Hulu) • Audrey • The Plot Against America (HBO) • Silent Retreat (Miramax) • Black Bear • Lapsis • Foxhole • The Undoing (HBO) • I Know This Much Is True (HBO)• Save Yourselves • I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix) • Scare Me • A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount) • Can You Keep a Secret? (BCDF) • Panic (Amazon Prime) • High Maintenance (HBO) • Shirley (Killer Films) • Driveways • The Dead Don't Die (Focus Features) • Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios) • The Irishman (Netflix) • The Climb • Swallow • Skin • The Mountain • A Quiet Place (Paramount) • Fabled • Then Came You (BCDF) • Furlough • A Vigilante • Nancy • Diane • The Miseducation of Cameron Post • La Devotee by Panic at the Disco! • It Comes at Night • Super Dark Times • The Seagull • HAPPYish (Showtime) • The Ticket • Growing Up Smith • Cold in July • Katie Fforde Films • True Story • The Sisterhood of Night • The Better Angels • We Are What We Are • The Bourne Legacy • Frances Ha • Our Idiot Brother • First Winter • The Last Keepers (BCDF) • Francine • Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding • Martha Marcy May Marlene • Higher Ground • Rocksteady • Bitter Feast • Stake Land • Man on Wire • Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) • American Gangster (Imagine Entertainment) • Michael Clayton • The Human Footprint (National Geographic) • The Night Listener • Stephanie Daley • War of the Worlds (Dreamworks) • Down to the Bone • Personal Velocity • Prey

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek, Putnam County, the Wood Dock Foundation and private support from kind donors. Please support our  continued efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

SEASON'S GREETING

BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE, HEALTHY

& HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON

WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR

Laurent Rejto
www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommisssion.org

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501c3 non profit organization (EIN 85-2021435) that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more.

SELECT Hudson Valley productions:
To view full list or to stream regional films, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest
The Hating Game • The Green Veil • Linoleum • The Sixth Reel • Diaries of an Exchange Student • Werewolves Within (Ubisoft Film) • Things Heard and Seen (Netflix) • Billions (Showtime) • Monsterland (Hulu) • Audrey • The Plot Against America (HBO) • Silent Retreat (Miramax) • Black Bear • Lapsis • Foxhole • The Undoing (HBO) • I Know This Much Is True (HBO)• Save Yourselves • I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix) • Scare Me • A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount) • Can You Keep a Secret? (BCDF) • Panic (Amazon Prime) • High Maintenance (HBO) • Shirley (Killer Films) • Driveways • The Dead Don't Die (Focus Features) • Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios) • The Irishman (Netflix) • The Climb • Swallow • Skin • The Mountain • A Quiet Place (Paramount) • Fabled • Then Came You (BCDF) • Furlough • A Vigilante • Nancy • Diane • The Miseducation of Cameron Post • La Devotee by Panic at the Disco! • It Comes at Night • Super Dark Times • The Seagull • HAPPYish (Showtime) • The Ticket • Growing Up Smith • Cold in July • Katie Fforde Films • True Story • The Sisterhood of Night • The Better Angels • We Are What We Are • The Bourne Legacy • Frances Ha • Our Idiot Brother • First Winter • The Last Keepers (BCDF) • Francine • Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding • Martha Marcy May Marlene • Higher Ground • Rocksteady • Bitter Feast • Stake Land • Man on Wire • Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) • American Gangster (Imagine Entertainment) • Michael Clayton • The Human Footprint (National Geographic) • The Night Listener • Stephanie Daley • War of the Worlds (Dreamworks) • Down to the Bone • Personal Velocity • Prey

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek, Putnam County, the Wood Dock Foundation and private support from kind donors. Please support our  continued efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

ANIMATED NEWS

Written by Rosie Felice and Laurent Rejto

Wikipedia states that: “Animated films share some film crew positions with regular live action films, such as director, producer, sound engineer, and editor, but differ radically in that for most of the history of animation, they did not need most of the crew positions seen on a physical set.” 

They also share the use of actors for voice over, but essentially, a lot of animators have the ability to work in solitude, which makes their work somewhat unique in an industry that generally relies on large crews, and actors, to produce content. 

For this post, we spoke to local animators Joy + Noelle, Lisa Thomas and Christine Pfister about how they have been able to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

JOY + NOELLE
Joy Buran and Noelle Melody are twin sister animators whose work ranges from hand drawn illustrations for children’s books and greeting cards to creating animation for clients such as Amazon Studios and Nickelodeon.

The pair have been collaborating remotely from their respective locations over the past several months, with Joy based in Queens and Noelle based in Kingston. On their current work process, Noelle said, “We do miss being able to visit each other and work together in person, which is way more fun than Google Hangouts, but we make due. Every morning we have our coffee, discuss our goals for the day, and are able to send files back and forth on Dropbox as needed.”

During the pandemic, the sisters kept busy animating a short film directed by Robin Sindler. “‘This Just Speaks to Me,’ shows scenes of daily life with covid,” wrote Noelle about the project, “If you've done any rooftop yoga, drive-by birthdays, or social distant hangs, this will speak to you!” Click to watch.

Joy + Noelle also created a promotional social media animation for Jay Teske Leather Co., which beautifully depicts the Kingston Waterfront and the feel of a Hudson Valley winter. 

“We created a little looping animation of the beautiful historic storefronts decked out for the holidays, snowflakes falling, lights twinkling, and pine trees tied up on car roofs as shoppers made their way up and down the street...you know, your basic dream project!” writes Noelle. “ It hopefully captured the magic of holiday shopping along the Kingston Waterfront and encouraged people to shop small and local this season.” Click to watch

For more, visit JOY + NOELLE

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LISA THOMAS
Catskill based Lisa M. Thomas has deep roots in producing animation with credits including “Wonder Showzen,” “Ugly Americans,” and “The Shivering Truth.”  Her newest half-hour animated series, “Teenage Euthanasia,” is a dystopic coming-of-all-ages, dark comedy about death, family and accidental resurrection, coming to Adult Swim in 2021, starring Maria Bamford, Jo Firestone, Tim Robinson and Bebe Neuwirth.

In order to get the green light on “Teenage Euthanasia,” the producers agreed with SAG and the network to record the entire cast of the series completely remotely sending audio kits directly into actors homes to adhere to all the new safety COVID guidelines. Over 15 audio kits were built and shipped around the country to accommodate the more than one-hundred recordings that were scheduled since October. The production is currently in its final week of recordings, which series audio engineer and mixer Paul Furedi called "nothing short of a miracle." 

Lisa also recently directed and produced the music video  “Candy Store” for the Dust Bowl Faeries. Based on a traditional Yiddish folk song, “Candy Store” is the first single released from New York-based cabaret-inspired indie rock band’s latest album, The Plague Garden.  Filmed in August 2020 in Catskill, NY, the video features the historic Mayflower Confectionery candy store, restored to its original state by set designer Jesika Farkas. “We brought back all the former details of the one time candy shoppe down to the original candy cases, fixtures and lights," said director Lisa Thomas. "It was so authentic that the locals of Catskill kept stopping in to try to buy candy.”

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CHRISTINE PFISTER
Christine Pfister is a stop-motion animator, art director and prop fabricator based in Craryville NY. Using methods of fabrication typically deemed women’s work, she strives to create fully hand-made films for her own practice. Usually very funny and horrifying by nature, her pieces reflect on human nature with a strong focus on sci-fi dreamscapes,  hallucinations, womanhood, memory tricks and decay.

With intentions of full sustainability and through the use of upcycled and recycled materials (plastics, card stock, textiles, threads, garlic peels, clementine peels and clay) she finds most pleasure in giving a second life to materials, and mixing these mediums. The end result being a series of miniature sculptures with their own defined actions and movements; from moths with garlic peel wings and furry threaded bodies, to lab rats made of old wig clippings and lab coats of fabric samples. 

COVID, though emotionally exhausting and taxing as it had been for us all, has not had too large an impact on her work- the tediousness and time required to build her animations forces her to be isolated and socially distant even without the mandates of quarantine. 

Currently on window display at the Athens Cultural Society, as a part of the ‘A Winter’s Tale Show,’ which features a hand carved mountain made of styrofoam packaging and miniature houses made of recycled paper, the show also features “Ghoul Log,” a film directed, animated, and starring Christine that debuted as a part of Beck Underwood’s Advent Calendar and Creepy Christmas Film Festival. 

In recent years she has made live action sets entirely out of cardboard for the Karate Tortoise series by Spooked Horse, made steamy animated sex dreams for feature film “MAD?” directed by Saskia Rifkin, and directed a music video for Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces. 

For more, please visit www.christinepfister.com

Stay tuned for more news about Mid- Hudson Valley filmmakers.

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek, Putnam County and the Wood Dock Foundation.

Please support our  efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

PUTNAM COUNTY: FILM READY

As of December 2020, the Hudson Valley Film Commission has started working with the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation to bring more film production to the Mid-Hudson Valley region.

“Putnam County is only 50 miles north of New York City, and readily accessible,” said Kathleen Abels, president of the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation. “In addition to majestic views of the Hudson River, idyllic lakes and nature preserves and charming period-piece Main Streets, Putnam County features many incredible locations.”

“A lot of industry vendors, as well and professional cast and crew members live in Putnam County. Many are already on the Hudson Valley Film Commission directory,” said Laurent Rejto on behalf of the film commission. “We already work very closely with Dutchess Tourism, so this is a natural extension that will benefit both counties, as well as productions."

Select locations include Boscobel House and Gardens, Brewster’s Tudor-style train station, Castle Rock, The Chapel Restoration, the Great Patterson Swamp, Magazzion Italian Art Museum, Massaro House, the iconic 1814 Putnam County Courthouse, mysterious Stone Chambers, Tilly Foster Farm, the West Point Foundry Preserve, among many more.

A few select film productions that have filmed in Putnam County over the years, include:

HELLO, DOLLY (1969)
Directed by Gene Kelly and starring Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau, "Hello, Dolly!" used Garrison to look like Yonkers circa 1890. It's features Vandergelder's Hay and Feed Store where the "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" dance number was filmed. See clip.

MALCOLM X (1992)
The opening scene of Spike Lee’s MALCOLM X was filmed in Putnam Valley. The scene focused on the burning of Malcolm Little’s childhood home in Lansing, Michigan. The house was burned to the ground by the Black Legion, a white supremacist group. See clip.

MONA LISA SMILE (2003) & THE SOPRANOS (2007)
You're probably wondering what Mike Newell's "Mona Lisa Smile," starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles can possibly have in common with The Sopranos 2007 episode "Soprano Home Movies,” starring James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli and Dominic Chianese. Apparently both projects filmed at a home on the Lake Oscawana, owned by the late Roy Scheider ("Jaws,"The French Connection," "All That Jazz").

Paul Rudd and Laurent Rejto at special screening of OUR IDIOT BROTHER

OUR IDIOT BROTHER (2011)
Paul Rudd stars as easygoing, dimwitted slacker Ned Rochlin. Upon his release from jail for selling pot, he brings chaos upon his three well-intentioned sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer). The film commission worked with location manager Eddy Collyns (Michael Clayton, The Seagull) to secure Main Street in Cold Spring for some additional filming. Watch trailer.

THE AFFAIR (2014)
Main Street and several other locations in and around Phillipstown were also featured on the SHOWTIME series THE AFFAIR, starring Dominic West (Noah), Ruth Wilson (Alison) and Maura Tierney (Helen). Season 1 takes place primarily in Montauk, but as season 2 opens, Noah and Alison have moved to Cold Spring. Watch Season 2 trailer. For more details, see Highlands Current.

PUMPKINHOLE (2020)
Most recently, Chilean writer-director Juan Pablo has been filming around Putnam and Dutchess, including the Breakthrough Tunnel. Executive producer Vlad Piverger worked location on A QUIET PLACE in 2018. Producer Marc Tarczali received his MFA in Producing from the AFI Conservatory. He resides around Pawling. See trailer.

Stay tuned for upcoming news about film and TV productions coming to Putnam County and the rest of the mid-Hudson Valley. Based on data collected for the fiscal year 2019, regional totals include:

• $46-million+ in DIRECT REGIONAL SPENDING
  *Total does not include any multipliers for indirect spending.

• 42,250+  rooms rented at local lodging establishments

• 441+ production days 

• 460+ scouting days tallied 

• 180+ locations used 

• 500+ local crew members hired 

• 762+ crew members traveling to region

• 4058+ local actors and extras hired

Anyone interested in making a location available should email filmcommission@me.com.
For more information, visit Putnam County.

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek, Putnam County, and the Wood Dock Foundation. Please support our continued efforts with a tax-deductible donation at hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

POST NEWS, PART III

Written by Rosie Felice

This blog explores recent film and TV post production work that has been happening in the Hudson Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wyatt Sprague is a sound editor who won an Emmy in 2017 for his work on the HBO limited series The Night Of. Cadence Effects is a VFX house that works in special effects for film, television, and commercial projects.

WYATT SPRAGUE
Wyatt Sprague is an Emmy Award winning sound effects editor whose credits include Little Women, Roma, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and The Big Lebowski., among many others. Based in the Hudson Valley, Sprague has been able to continue working remotely through the pandemic on a number of exciting projects, including The Many Saints of Newark, Dave Chase’s prequel to The Sopranos.

“In January of 2020, I had just finished cutting sound effects for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and was working on season 4 of The Good Fight when covid hit and production stopped after 7 episodes,” writes Sprague. “They had planned on 10 but couldn't continue due to the lockdown. A stretch of nothing followed that until Ma Rainey returned for some final work.”

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a drama directed by George C. Wolf starring Viola Davis (Fences) and the late Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther). Based on the play by August Wilson, the film centers on the true story of Ma Rainey, known as “Mother of the Blues,” and a recording session in 1920’s Chicago. The film premieres on Netflix on December 18, 2020. Watch trailer.

After finishing work on Ma Rainey, Sprague began work on Ramin Bahrani’s The White Tiger, another upcoming Netflix film that will be available to stream on January 22, 2021. 

On The White Tiger, Sprague wrote, “It was done over the summer and everyone on the sound crew worked remotely. The Supervisor, Jacob Ribicoff, and his asst, Eric Strausser, were great at communicating constantly so the job went off without any problems. It takes place entirely in India, where I've been a couple of times. I got married there, so it was a nice challenge for me to recreate locations I was familiar with.”

Wyatt’s current post production project is The Many Saints of Newark, which is a film he has been working on-and-off on since 2019. The Many Saints of Newark is a prequel to the HBO series The Sopranos, directed by Alan Taylor and written by The Sopranos creator Dave Chase. The highly anticipated prequel follows the life of young Tony Soprano and the racial tension of Newark, New Jersey, during the 1960’s.

“After Newark, I have no idea what comes next. Hopefully some films managed to get done during the brief period when they were allowed to shoot again. I saw something shooting in Woodstock last week which is a good sign.”

CADENCE EFFECTS
Cadence Effects is a post production and VFX  house located in Columbia County which sports what producer Jeremy Beadell refers to as “an old stone barn on the outside with the latest technology on the inside.” The company is run by founder and FX supervisor Craig Crawford, and head of production / VFX producer, Jeremy Beadell. 

Cadence Effects specializes in motion graphics, 2D/3D FX, and look development, among other services. Their credits include Game of Thrones, A Quiet Place and countless other projects.

Recent work includes special effects for Focus Features’ Let Him Go, written and directed by Thomas Bezucha, starring Diane Lane and Kevin Costner. Cadence Effects completed work on 265 shots that ranged from 3D ice cream cones to removing modern day highway signs and lines on the roads to match the time period.

Other interesting projects include Space Force and Outer Banks (Netflix), M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant for Apple TV and The Righteous Gemstones for HBO. Cadence Effects also recently worked with up and coming filmmakers like Sarah T. Schwab on the gripping Life After You, which explores a suburban family struggles with the death of their 19 year old son, following an overdose of heroin laced with fentanyl.

The core team consists of experienced artists who are passionate and technically sophisticated – hand picked for their individual SUPERPOWERS and their individuality. “We are all incredibly lucky to find ourselves working in Upstate New York,” adds Beadell. There is a wonderful wealth of talent in the area and we are only just getting to know who they are!”

For more details about Cadence Effects, visit www.cadence-effects.com

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek and the Wood Dock Foundation.

Please support our  efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

BRIDGES FEATURED FILM & TV

A lot of local bridges have been featured in film and TV productions in the region over the past 20 years. None have been used as much as the Kingston–Port Ewen Suspension Bridge, better known as The Wurts Bridge.

• In 2019, the Wurts Bridge was used for THE UNDOING.
• In 2018, the Wurts Bridge was used for SKIN.
• In 2016, the Wurts Bridge was featured for GROWING UP SMITH.
• In 2015, the Wurts Bridge was featured for SUPER DARK TIMES.
• In 2012, the Wurts bridge was used for THE SISTERHOOD OF NIGHT.

According to Wikipedia, the Kingston–Port Ewen Suspension Bridge, sometimes known as the "Rondout Creek bridge", "Old Bridge" or "Wurts Street Bridge," is a steel suspension bridge spanning Rondout Creek, near where it empties into the Hudson River. It connects the City of Kingston to the north, with the village of Port Ewen to the south. Completed in 1921, it was the final link in New York's first north-south highway on the West Shore of the Hudson, and is considered an important engineering accomplishment associated with the development of early motoring.

The Wallkill Rail Trail Bridge has also appeared in several big productions including A QUIET PLACE (1&2) and the HBO seriesI KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE.

A few other bridges that have appeared in specific film and TV productions, include:
• Breakneck Tunnel (Pumpkinhole)
• Esopus Bridge (Audrey, Fighting Fish)
• Mid-Hudson Bridge. (IKTMIT)
• Moodna Viaduct (Michael Clayton, The Half of It)
• Rosendale Trestle (Super Dark Times)
• Rip Van Winkle Bridge (Z: The Beginning of Everything)
• Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park (High Maintenance, IKTMIT)
• Wilbur Bridge (The Plot Against America, Doomsdays)
*Did we forget anything. If so, let us know.

Three fun facts:

1) When the production manager of A QUIET PLACE asked the film commission to convince the county to delay renovations so they could use of the bridge as it was, Ulster County Exec Mike Hein and Suzanne Holt said no in about two seconds flat. We suggested they have the production designer make it work. It worked out!

2) For I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, a robotic monkey (inside a bag) was thrown off the bridge.

3) What similarity is there between the bridge scene in THE UNDOING and A QUIET PLACE? Answer: Both fathers (played by Hugh Grant and John Krasinsky) are accompanied by their son, who is portrayed by the same actor, Noah Jupe.

Links for all the above mentioned film and TV productions are available online at www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek and the Wood Dock Foundation.

Please support our  efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

GIVING TUESDAY

2020 has been a difficult year for non-profits and many individuals. Our organization is no exception. Much of our funding was lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With determination and thanks to several key individuals and foundations, we persevered under an austerity budget. We look forward to working with many more film productions as film and TV production return to work. Five films recently wrapped in the region under strict Covid-19 guidelines, and we are speaking with many production companies (including Paramount and HBO) regarding projects for 2021.

Your tax deductible donation will help us sustain the directory and continue our mission

to secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more!

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS CAN BE MADE USING:

FACEBOOK @ <https://www.facebook.com/donate/414978073007296/10218166004571502>
*100% of contribution goes to non-profit.

PAYPAL GIVING FUND @ <https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4138282>
*100% of contribution goes to non-profit.

CHECKS can be sent made payable to:
Hudson Valley Film Commission, Inc
2 Sawood Lane, Woodstock, NY 12498

The primary goal of the Hudson Valley Film Commission has always been to refer LOCAL vendors,

crew members and actors with the aim of CREATING JOBS and regional economic development.

In order to provide information about local residents and businesses that work in the film business,

an extensive FREE directory is available and updated regularly at www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org


Thank you for your kind consideration.

Laurent Rejto
Hudson Valley Film Commission

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501c3 non profit organization (under EIN 85-2021435) that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development.

SELECT Hudson Valley productions:
To view full list or to stream regional films, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest
The Green Veil • Linoleum • The Sixth Reel • Diaries of an Exchange Student • Werewolves Within (Ubisoft Film) • Things Heard and Seen (Netflix) • Billions (Showtime) • Monsterland (Hulu) • Audrey • The Plot Against America (HBO) • Silent Retreat (Miramax) • Black Bear • Lapsis • Foxhole • The Undoing (HBO) • I Know This Much Is True (HBO)• Save Yourselves • I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix) • Scare Me • A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount) • Can You Keep a Secret? (BCDF) • Panic (Amazon Prime) • High Maintenance (HBO) • Shirley (Killer Films) • Driveways • The Dead Don't Die (Focus Features) • Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios) • The Irishman (Netflix) • The Climb • Swallow • Skin • The Mountain • A Quiet Place (Paramount) • Fabled • Then Came You (BCDF) • Furlough • A Vigilante • Nancy • Diane • The Miseducation of Cameron Post • La Devotee by Panic at the Disco! • It Comes at Night • Super Dark Times • The Seagull • HAPPYish (Showtime) • The Ticket • Growing Up Smith • Cold in July • Katie Fforde Films • True Story • The Sisterhood of Night • The Better Angels • We Are What We Are • The Bourne Legacy • Frances Ha • Our Idiot Brother • First Winter • The Last Keepers (BCDF) • Francine • Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding • Martha Marcy May Marlene • Higher Ground • Rocksteady • Bitter Feast • Stake Land • Man on Wire • Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) • American Gangster (Imagine Entertainment) • Michael Clayton • The Human Footprint (National Geographic) • The Night Listener • Stephanie Daley • War of the Worlds (Dreamworks) • Down to the Bone • Personal Velocity

POST NEWS, PART II

Written by Rosie Felice

Post production remains alive and well in the Hudson Valley, despite significant challenges faced by the industry in the midst of COVID-19. Two local professionals, Tim Miller and Fiona Otway, have each stayed exceptionally busy during the pandemic working on exciting projects in the Hudson Valley area. Among other work, both filmmakers have been in post production on feature documentaries: Miller and his team at Big Chief Studio are currently editing their documentary “We Remember: Songs of Survivors,” a film that follows songwriters who express and honor the stories of Holocaust survivors through music, while Fiona Otway was working earlier this year on the edit of a film tentatively titled “Going to Mars,” a biographical documentary on the life and work of the American poet Nikki Giovanni.

TIM MILLER
Tim Miller is the executive producer and creative director of Big Chief Studio, a digital media production company located in Kerhonkson, NY. Big Chief works with clients to create a broad range of video content, including global corporate adcampaigns, commercial marketing, and promotional videos for local businesses. Some of their best known televised work includes 'Sideshow:Alive on the Inside' (TLC), 'The White House: Behind Closed Doors (History) and ‘Buried Treasure’ series (FOX).

Independent of Big Chief, Miller has had an extensive career as a Creative Director and VP for networks such as NBC and HBO. His work as a director and producer spans across several iterations of visual media, including television, news, and music videos, garnering him two Best Director/Best Video awards from the Academy of Country Music for the Garth Brooks music videos “We Shall be Free” and “The Change.”

Tim Miller, Deirdre Reckseit Miller, Tim Guetterman (sitting)

Miller lived and worked in New York City for 20 years before falling in love with the Hudson Valley and moving upstate with the editorial side of his production company approximately six years ago. Big Chief now does all of its post production through four edit bays at their 10-acre property in Kerhonkson, which Miller refers to as a “digital farm.” 

 “We have a virtual staff now of about 10 creatives – some staff, some free-lance – working on projects,” said Miller on the current post production process of Big Chief. “Most of them have been working remotely, some even through remote access to our editing systems, which is interesting when you’re there alone and suddenly the computers light up and start editing!”

Though the pandemic has significantly complicated production for Big Chief, Miller and his team have remained busy creating video content for clients. Much of their recent work in the past year has been for multinational corporation and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, who are currently on the front lines of trying to develop a Coronavirus vaccine. Big Chief is also working closely with ABC on advertising promotion and commercial projects, in addition to doing pro-bono work for SUNY schools, including the local SUNY Ulster. 

“I can’t lie, it’s been tough for us, but we’ve never ever been as busy as we’ve been over the past nine months,” said Miller.

Currently, Big Chief is in post production for the PBS feature documentary, “We Remember: Songs of Survivors,” a poignant film which follows the process of local musicians who connect with Holocaust survivors and create songs inspired by the survivors’ stories. Through the organization Sage Arts, songwriters and musicians spent months with elders in the community to create music that would reflect and honor their experiences, finally culminating in an inspirational concert at Mount Saint Mary’s in May, 2019. 

"It’s been a life-changing experience, bringing such joy to me and all those involved," said Miller. "My hope would be that we could finish the film sometime before the spring."

In addition to being edited locally, "We Remember: Songs of Survivors" was set in the Hudson Valley and included many local crew members and staff.

"The process was just extraordinary," said Miller on the production of the film. He went on to say, "It’s a film that involved a lot of very talented local people in the Hudson Valley, and that makes me proud. Shooters, musicians, music directors, mixers, sound mixers - it really brought the community together in a real meaningful way, and I'd love to be able to keep seeing that happen down the line for us.”

FIONA OTWAY
Fiona Otway is a Kingston based editor and filmmaker who is known for her work on “Hell and Back Again,” “Iraq in Fragments,” and “Kiss the Paper,” among other projects. Over the past several months, Otway has been busy working locally as an editor, story consultant, and educator. 

Fiona Otway. Photo courtesy of Marie Hinson

“2020 has definitely been a strange year! I am based in the Kingston area and have been working remotely for many years, so covid-19 has suddenly mainstreamed that approach and made it easier in a lot of ways,” writes Otway. “But it goes without saying that there is still a lot of uncertainty in the film world these days and my conversations with other filmmakers always come back to a cautious outlook on how covid-19 will affect our industry long term. For now, I feel grateful to have kept busy this year.”

Fiona has been working on a biographical documentary film going under the working title, “Going to Mars” - about Nikki Giovanni from Brooklyn-based directors Joe Brewster (‘American Promise’) and Michele Stephenson (‘American Promise,’‘A Conversation on Race’). 

“I have been working off and on for a long time on a documentary edit about one of America’s foremost living poets, Nikki Giovanni, an icon who rose to prominence during the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and who has contributed immeasurably to an ongoing cultural conversation alongside other luminaries like James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Novella Nelson, Sonia Sanchez, among others,” writes Otway. “Nikki Giovanni has had an enduring influence spanning generations, and her legacy is particularly relevant right now.”

Sam Green

In addition to her work on “Going to Mars,” Otway has been working in post on a narrative, dark comedy short from academy Award winning director, Cynthia Wade (‘Shelter Dogs,’ ‘Freeheld’) and has been collaborating on an experimental edit with documentary filmmaker Sam Green (‘The Weather Underground’) on a film that Otway projects will be in production for many years.

“This project was really fun for me because I’ve been able to exercise new creative muscles, working outside of my typical documentary genre,” Otway writes on the short film with Cynthia Wade.

Outside of editing, Otway has also been doing exciting work as a story consultant. Some of the filmmakers she has consulted for recently include Lindsay Lindenbaum on her debut feature “Tomboy,” Raul Paz-Pastrana on the documentary film “Border South,” and Stefan Forbes on his upcoming documentary “Hold Your Fire,” which though still in post production has already been honored with the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize.

Otway has also been working since 2016 as a Visiting Artist in Residence at Bard College and is passionate about educating a new generation of filmmakers. 

“I really love being able to combine my creative efforts as an editor with my work supporting and sometimes mentoring other filmmakers,” writes Otway. “Most recently, I taught an intensive year-long class on start-to-finish documentary filmmaking with a social justice emphasis. It was an ambitious course, because some of the students had no prior experience with filmmaking, so we covered everything from nuts and bolts to deconstructing metanarratives and strategies for decolonizing documentaries. In a year that won’t be forgotten, it’s inspiring to watch these students grapple with the complex social issues that their generation is inheriting and put their whole hearts into films that explore these issues inside and out.”

As of November 11, several productions are back at work under new strict Covid-19 guidelines, so it looks like post production professionals will continue working on new projects as they are delivered for picture editing, sound design, scoring, mixing, VFX, and more. The Post-Production Tax Credit program is designed to strengthen the post-production industry in New York State and its positive impact on the State’s economy. With so many post production professionals in the region, the Hudson Valley Film Commission hopes and looks forward to reporting on their work. Stay tuned for more post-production news.

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek and the Wood Dock Foundation.

Please support our  efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support

MINIATURE HALLOWEEN

Today's streamfest recommendation features the world famous NYC Halloween Parade, which has deep roots in the Hudson Valley, specifically Dutchess County, where this years extravaganza was filmed.

"Over the years, I've had the pleasure of taking part in the NYC Halloween parade, dating back to the 1980s when I lived in NYC," recalls film commission director Laurent Rejto. "I never figured then, that 30+ years later, I would count the artistic and producing director of the parade as a close family friend, and neighbor. This year, I was honored when I was invited to get a behind the scenes glimpse at the parade in the making at a local artist studio in Rhinecliff."

I hope you will join me in enjoying The World Premiere of the First Ever Double Magnificent Intergalactic MINIATURE Halloween Parade.

Produced by New York’s Village Halloween Parade, this first annual online MOVIE event is hosted by Basil Twist’s famous Spider puppet, Zohra. Click here to view.

The Parade features the puppet work of 30 artists from the history of New York’s Village Halloween Parade.

Conceived during a time when other events were finding adaptations of their cancelled events due to Covid, this event is original, unique and stands on its own as an international (indeed, intergalactic: viz. aliens accepted) event of LARGE import, but miniature scale.

These small figures are made by Giants of the puppet world as well as doll makers and costumer designers.

Set against a background created by Broadway Set Designer and Painter, Richard Prouse these “avatars” are displayed against a moving “cranky” image of NYC. They walk past all of NYC’s iconic buildings from the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center to the Apollo Theater and the Cloisters.

With no NYPD route restrictions, this Halloween Parade takes ALL of NYC!

The Mini Parade features Grand Marshall, Pinocchio, along with live commentary by actor Donald Corren to a soundtrack of the On The Lam Band, the Original Halloween Parade band!

Puppet artists included:
Mavin Ambrose (Flesh), Ken Ard (Dandy), Julie Atlas Muz (Alan the Alien), Jay Bell (Lord Papillon), Kate Brehm (Mummy Mommy!) Machine Dazzle (COVID Nanobot), Andrew Diaz & Richard Prouse (Till We Meet Again), Andrew Diaz( Tribute to Broadway), Gary Gewant of Leela Puppet Theatre (Pinocchio), Brandon Hardy (Monster), Joanna Hess (La Contessa de la Mare), Serra Hirsch (The Photing Booth), Cait Johnson (Baba Yaga), Processional Arts Workshop (Snake), Suzy Morris (Melania Antoinnette), Paul O’Connor (Squid), Paul O’Connor & Susan Bissonnette (Fish), Sara Peattie of Puppeteers Cooperative (J. Jumpin’ Spider), Mark Perez (Shkreli), Tarish Pipkins (Aunt Nancy), Richard Prouse (MC), Richard Prouse (Mourning Mother), Kalan Sherrard (Triumphant Spirit of Decay), Lake Simmons (Weathervane Fool), Elissa Stein (Victory), Amy Trompetter (Black Lives Matter), Basil Twist (Jefferson Library Spider), Sergio Velez (Samhain! & Wendigo)

Puppeteers and Crew included:
Jeanne Fleming (concept and co-director, artistic and producing director of the Village Halloween Parade), Martha Ross Tobias (co-director and production manager), Sky Gewant (editor and cinematographer, Richard W. Prouse (Set and Backdrop) Donald Corren (Host), Helene Silverman (Title Design), Matthew Fass (Social Media and Web Design), Grace Schultz, Stabilize) Basil Twist (Muse), Douglas Baz (Photography) and puppeteers Susan Bissonnette, Joanna Hess,Sarah Bissonnette, Tessa Miller, Lauren Smith.

Watch the parade online at https://halloween-nyc.com/miniween

POST NEWS, PART I

In mid-March of 2020, film and TV production came to a complete standstill. Two first quarter productions, ‘Werewolves Within’ by director Josh Ruben, and the Brazilian production of ‘Diaries of an Exchange Student,’ luckily ended without any infections. A few days after those movies wrapped, the entire industry shut down worldwide due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Over the next eight months, most local industry professionals  filed for unemployment and/or scrambled for other work.  Conversely, many post production professionals were kept busy preparing films and TV shows for release.  As a result, many local post production professionals worked through the pandemic. The Hudson Valley Film Commission has been staying in touch with several of them, and will be writing about their work and the interesting projects they were involved with. This initial blog, features three editors; Woodstock based John David Allen, Saugerties based Blake Gingerich, and Kingston based Chad Smith.

JOHN DAVID ALLEN
‘That Animal Rescue Show,’ which is executive produced by five-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater (‘Boyhood,’ ‘Before Sunrise,’ ‘School of Rock’) and two-time Academy Award winner and documentarian Bill Guttentag (‘You Don't Have to Die,’ ‘Twin Towers’), provides a window into this captivating world through moving, humorous, and powerful stories of animals and the humans who love them, in Austin, Texas. 

Richard Linklater

Although both are based elsewhere, Linklater and Guttentag, both have local connections. In 2015, Austin-based Linklater, executive produced ‘I Dream Too Much,’ starring Eden Brolin (‘Yellowstone’) and Diane Ladd ('Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'). The film was directed by Saugerties based Katie Cokinos. Thanks to film commission director Laurent Rejto and help from Cokinos, while at SXSW in 2008, Linklater accepted to be  honored as the WFF Maverick Award recipient for 2009. San Francisco based Bill Guttentag previously worked with Allen on the 2019 documentary ‘Sublime.’ In 2002, the film ‘Twin Towers,’ which he co-directed with Robert David Port won best short documentary honors at WFF and the Academy Awards.

For ‘That Animal Rescue Show,’ the production team turned to John David Allen for editing.

John David Allen

“What a great show to work on!” Allen exclaimed. “It’s funny, extremely warm, family-friendly, and as much about Austin TX as it is about animals. And there’s a twist — it’s often the humans who are rescued by the animals. My episodes cover a Farm Animal Sanctuary, a husband/wife Bat Rescue team, Austin’s own singing cowboy and a young man who moved to Austin to become a goat doula.”

“Originally the edit team for ‘That Animal Rescue Show’ was LA-based,” Allen added, “but when the pandemic hit everything moved to remote and I was offered two episodes to cut from my home in Woodstock. I worked with three other editors, six producers, and a dozen support people spread across the country, all through online streaming.  Edit reviews were through the Evercast platform which enabled everyone in the “room” to see my avid real-time and discuss as if we were in the same space. I hope everyone will check out the show on CBS All Access!”

Click here to watch the trailer for ‘That Animal Rescue Show.

Allen stayed busy with more work in 2020. He also edited a series of testimonials on the difficulties with the American Healthcare system for GoodRx and he is currently editing the feature film ‘Ida Red’ for local director John Swab out of Utopia Studios in Bearsville with assistant editor Eric Jacobs. Mixing and local sound design will be handled by Coll Anderson.

Swab, Travolta, Pitt and Rosen at Rome Film Festival

“This is the third film that my producing partner, Jeremy Rosen, and I have done,” said director John Swab. “All three films were shot in my native Tulsa, Oklahoma, but post production on all three films was handled in the Hudson Valley where I live. It’s my second film with local editor John David Allen, and third with the legend of Upper Pond Road, Coll Anderson - both of whom were referred to us by my good friend, and Hudson Valley Film ambassador, Laurent Rejto. This year we are operating out of the old Utopia Studios and very much enjoying it. We’re very blessed to have so many talented people locally and be able to work from home."

Swab’s first film ‘Run With The Hunted’ was edited by Woodstock filmmaker John Greenhalgh (‘Team Foxcatcher’). The film stars three actors who have all worked on regional productions – Michael Pitt (‘I Origins’), Ron Perlman (‘The Escape of Prisoner 614’)  and Mark Boone Jr. (‘Frozen River’). The film made its Showtime premiere on October 25, 2020, and can be streamed on Showtime. Swab’s second film ‘Body Brokers,’ stars Frank Grillo (‘The Grey,’ ‘Avengers’), Michael Kenneth Williams (‘The Wire,’ ‘Boardwalk Empire’) and Hudson Valley based Academy Award winner, Melissa Leo (‘Frozen River,’ ‘The Fighter’), who Rejto also introduced to Swab. Stay tuned for news about its impending release.

BLAKE GINGERICH
When the Covid-19 lockdown hit New York State, Blake Gingerich was working as the assistant editor on Neil Burger’s upcoming sci-fi thriller ‘Voyagers,’ which stars Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan, Isaac Hempstead Wright, and Lily-Rose Depp. The movie is set for release in 2021 via Lionsgate. Burger is best known for his work on ‘Billions’ (Showtime), ‘The Illusionist,’ and ‘Interview with the Assassin,” which tied for best feature film at the 2001 WFF.

Blake Gingerich with assistant editors

“The Covid-19 lockdown changed my work life dramatically on Thursday, March 12,” writes Gingerich. “We had just been doing visual effects reviews on the feature that I was assistant editing, ‘Voyagers.’ We got the news that everything was closing, and so I packed the project onto a couple of drives & we all headed out with no idea of when we would return. The film was mostly cut at that point, but we were still waiting on something like 500 visual effects shots. So I came up to my house in Saugerties & the editor took the other drive to her house in Brooklyn, and we managed to finish the rest remotely with a lot of help from facilities in NYC.” 

In the wake of his work on ‘Voyagers,’ Gingerich has been working in recent months on post production for nonfiction work, including as the editor of the MTV quarantine special, ‘2020 Code.’ He has also just started as the assistant editor on Michael Lewen’s new movie, ‘Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between.” 

Writes Gingerich on the new project, “I'm still doing all of my work in Saugerties, and the editor is at home in Brooklyn. They send the footage out to us every morning & then we do our thing with it pretty much as usual. The plan is to work remotely with the director once shooting wraps, but we'll have to be very flexible with how the end of this goes since none of us really have an idea what we'll be dealing with come 2021. Obviously, the biggest issue with working this way in our neighborhood is the shaky reliability of our broadband access, and also, sometimes, our electricity. But we're happy to be working again!”

CHAD SMITH
Kingston based Chad Smith of Massive Clouds on Wall Street, recently finished on EPK on the new Ryan Martin record ‘Wandercease,’ which was recorded at Kenny Siegel’s Old Soul Studios in Catskill.  Click here to view the EPK.

Laurent Rejto with Chad Smith

"I really had a good time up at Kenny’s  shooting a behind the scenes with Ryan and the band,” says Smith.  “We were also able to capture some music video performances of ‘I Just Wanna Die’ at the same time.  There was so much talent in that room, and it was my privilege to capture folks doing what they do best, making great music. “

Production clip from ‘A Reckoning in Boston’

When the Covid-19 Pandemic hit, Smith was unsure how the company would be affected, but he quickly realized they would stay busy with picture editing and color correction work on several projects including some internal content for BMW of North America, and the feature documentary ‘A Reckoning in Boston,’ from directorJames Rutenbeck. The film will air in 2021 on PBS’s Independent Lens.

Additional work  included editing for Project ALS on their ‘Tomorrow is Tonight’ Virtual Family Dinner. 

“The only thing we’ve missed is having our directors in session,” added Smith, “but doing Zoom edit sessions has been the next best thing.” 

Massive Clouds Film and Video Post Productions  just moved into a larger space at 318 Wall Street in uptown Kingston.  The added space has made it easier to  properly social distance with clients when needed.  

As of October 28, several productions are back at work under new strict Covid-19 guidelines, so it looks like post production professionals will continue working on new projects as they are delivered for picture editing, sound design, scoring, mixing, VFX, and more. The Post-Production Tax Credit program is designed to strengthen the post-production industry in New York State and its positive impact on the State’s economy. With so many post production professionals in the region, the Hudson Valley Film Commission hopes and looks forward to reporting on their work. Stay tuned.... 

Blog written in part by Rosie Felice for Hudson Valley Film Commission

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The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $250 million in regional economic development. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is supported in part by Dutchess Tourism, Markertek and the Wood Dock Foundation.

Please support our  efforts with a tax-deductible contribution @ hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support